Lashkar-e-Taiba has dedicated internet team: Abu Jundal

NEW DELHI: Syed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal has told his interrogators that Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives are trained in 'internet activities' and the outfit has a dedicated band of "trained and educated" boys who look after the entire gamut of online activities like sending emails, maintaining websites and using different servers in a way to show the IP addresses in the US and other western countries.

Indian agencies were aware of these facts through intelligence sources and interrogation of small-time operatives but this has been corroborated now.

Jundal also told investigators that all Lashkar recruits had to undergo a 10-12 hour exercise daily which included religious training, IED making, handling small and heavy weapons and use of communication devices.

LeT, intelligence sources said, had professionals who took classes in the use of software and internet, besides people from ISI and Pakistan army who taught use of weapons like AK series rifles, hand grenades, rockets, pistols, mortars, anti-tank mines, anti-personnel mines, anti-aircraft guns, remote control devices, explosive devices and sophisticated communication systems.

"The new recruits, several of them well educated, join these training programmes for several days. Their day starts early in the morning with religious prayers, listening to lectures, exercising, studying about weapons and how to make IEDs and later they are asked to use them. If the trainers find that a particular recruit is not concentrating, he is removed from the training programme," a source said.

Jundal has also given information about Lashkar training camps running all over Pakistan. Sources said Jundal had given names of some trainers as well.

Jundal was questioned by new Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar at the Special Cell office on Sunday afternoon. Delhi Police and IB have extracted information from Jundal about operatives in India, which officials refused to share saying 'operations were going on'.

If sources are to be believed, Jundal has also given some helpful inputs to agencies about the IISC attack in 2005 and Rampur attack in January 2008. The cops are also planning to confront him with Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin, who are in jail for the Rampur attack.

Jundal has already provided information about several ISI officers and their numbers to the agencies, apart from change of operational command base of Lashkar from Muzzafarabad to Dulai in Pakistan. In the 26/11 case, Jundal has reportedly given some new inputs about the control room, planning and execution, through which Indian agencies would be able to file a new charge sheet on Pakistan's role in the attack.